The Last Ride
by AngelDevilChica
Summary: Letty is contemplating where to go from here. She's married and ready to start a life with her husband, but the return of her memory brings back both good and bad. Find out where it all started, and fill in the gaps through Letty's restored mind. Will start with Letty @ 16 and continue hopefully beyond Furious 7. Reviews always welcome. :)
1. Prologue

**The Last Ride**

At 4am I finally gave up tossing and turning and stood up out of bed, careful not to wake Dom I tip toed across the room and opened the door. I peeked out into the hall to make sure that Jack hadn't woken Mia or Brian yet before I crept down the hall into the tiny kitchen. After the last three years of feeling lost, I hated not knowing where to find things in this damn tiny kitchen.

After some looking, I found a mug and slipped it under the Kurig maker. It was 2015. We'd come so far from where we'd started all those years ago in that tiny LA town.

Picking up my now full mug I padded my way into the living room and sunk down onto the couch. It was weird staying in this house. After Shaw's stunt with the package bomb, Hobbes had set us up in an LA safe house while Dom had the house rebuilt. It was wonderful to have a place to stay but I was quickly going crazy.

I had spent so much of the last three years in a world that was unfamiliar, and now that I was finally free, all I wanted was to go back to the place that I could finally remember. I wanted to live my life with my husband, and my sister-in-law/life long best friend and her family. That being said, we definitely could not to that in this tiny 2 bedroom safe house.

As I sipped my coffee I began to think about how we got here. From racers, to heist organizers, to wanted criminals, and then to government mercenaries. It was a crazy ride, one that started so long ago it felt like it was someone else's life.

**I'm Baaaaack! Haha I haven't written a TFATF story in years, literally about 5 years. In fact, I am willing to bet half my fans don't even read here any more, but none the less. With the closing of the Fast &amp; Furious franchise, I have been inspired to write a throw back story, one that could... if I don't get bored... lead all the way up to the 7th film, maybe even go beyond? I am however a bit of a thirsty hoe, meaning I need reviews people. the best story I ever wrote was written because of the awesome reviews that I received from the very beginning, soooo please people, feed my fire!**


	2. Chapter 1

I moved to Echo Park when I was in the 2nd grade with my mom, my Aunt Nydia, and my three cousins. Mom was a nurse who mostly worked nights, and Aunt Nydia waitressed at three different restaurants throughout the week. After my father died, my Aunt Nydia and her husband Herbert let mom and I move in with them, but a few months later when my aunt caught my uncle selling drugs, we moved out of South Central and into Echo Park.

I was young, and it was pretty easy for me to adjust, early on I met Mia, and from then on I was an honorary Toretto. When Mia's mom died, Mr. T and my mom began trading shifts trying to make sure that someone was able to get us from the bus after school and that someone was there to watch us.

I spent many a night at the Toretto household or in DT's with Tony. By the time I was 13 I was working in the garage and earning a little pocket change after school, at the same time I was nursing my obsession for Tony's handsome son Dominic.

Now at almost 16, what was once a crush was now a full blown obsession, I was convinced I was in love, but Dom barely knew I was alive. To him I was Mia's friend, on a good day he'd call me his sister, but none of that was what I wanted to hear.

After locking up the garage on a Friday, I waited while Mia cleaned up her books so that we could begin our walk back to my house.

"Dad," Dom called from the door, "Vince and I are gonna go out to the movies with Hector and some of the guys tonight."

Mr. T, who had been buried under the hood of his charger, looked up to consider what his son had just told him.

"You have a 2am curfew Dominic." He warned

"Yeah I know dad, don't worry, I'll be on time." Dom said turning to go

"If you and Vince don't wake up on time tomorrow I will leave for the race without you." Mr. T called after him

"Alright!" Dom called out

"We ain't gonna miss the race for nothing Mr. T" Vince said, before following Dom out to the RX-7

Mia came out of the office and I slung my back pack over my shoulder.

"Alright Daddy, we're going!" Mia said, running over to plant a kiss on her father's cheek

"Alright girls, Letty, you're sure your mom is gonna be ok with you guys staying over there tonight? I know she doesn't get off till late. Is your aunt gonna be home?" Mr. T asked

"Yeah, she got off at 4." I lied

The truth was the Mia and I would have the house to ourselves until almost three in the morning because my mom was at the hospital until 2 and aunt Nydia got off at 12:30 and then had to drive to the hospital to pick mom up.

"Well, then you guys behave ok?" Mr. T said, reaching for me

I walked over and gave him a hug.

"We'll see you in the morning Mr. T" I laughed

"I'll be outside at 6:15 sharp." He said

"We know daddy, we'll be awake." Mia said

We hurried out the door and up the block to our street.

"So what do you think Dom and Vince are really doing tonight?" Mia asked me as we walked up the road towards my house

"Not a movie that's for sure, I bet you anything there's a race tonight." I said

"Oh, I know there is, Nick Rodriguez asked me if I wanted to ride with him, and he's a part of Hector's crew." Mia said

"I'm surprised you didn't tell him yes." I laughed, fishing my keys from my pocket as we walked up my driveway.

"Actually…" Mia said awkwardly

I paused in the middle of unlocking the door. "You told him you would go with him didn't you?" I asked annoyed

"I told him I could only go if he could give you a ride too." She said looking at me with puppy eyes

"You did what!?" I asked

"I got you a ride to a street race you brat say thank you!" Mia scolded

"Why would you do that!" I demanded pushing the door open and ushering Mia inside

"Because you have been whining for over a year about how you wish Dom and Vince would take you with them to a race, and since you can't drive us to one until Monday, I have decided that my early birthday gift to you is a makeover and a ride to the races." She said honestly

"Damn it Mia. My mom is gonna kill me." I told her

"Your mom won't be home until like 3 in the morning, Dom and Vince are always back way before then, I can't see why we wouldn't be." Mia argued

"And what are you gonna do if Dom and Vince see us and tell Tony?" I asked

"Dom and Vince can't tell Dad anything even if they do see us, remember, they're going to the movies." She said with a sly smile

I sighed, "I cannot believe you're talking me into this."

Mia squealed and hugged me tight, "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever, I'm going to take a shower, I'm covered in grease." I said

"Wash your hair!" Mia told me as I walked up the stairs

"Mmmhmm." I replied, not really paying her much attention.

My mind had wondered to Dominic, was he going to be mad when he saw us? Would seeing him there finally get him to understand that I wasn't a little kid? I mean sure he was a senior and I was a sophomore, but in reality it wasn't much of a gap.

I stripped down and turned on the scalding water, letting the heat of it wash away all the sweat and engine grime. Maybe Mia's makeover wouldn't be so bad.

"Hold still girl, I'm almost finished." Mia scolded as she continued to line my eyes with her black sharpie looking thing

"This shit is burning my eyes Mi." I told her

"Because you keep moving, hold still and it won't burn." She laughed

I huffed out a breath and tried my best to sit as still as possible, after a few more agonizing moments, she was finally done.

"There, you're finished." She said

I stood up off my bed and walked over to the full body mirror that hung on the back of my bedroom door.

"Woah!" I said in awe

"Yeah! My thoughts exactly!" She laughed

"I look like a fucking skank!" I cried in horror

Mia's smile quickly rearranged itself into a frown, "you so do not!" she snapped

"Mia my whole fricken stomach is out!" I told her pointing to my flat belly that was exposed almost completely by Mia's long sleved belly top. The V-neck of the top combined with one of Mia's push up bras left little to the imagination in rack city, and my ass was nearly exposed in her leather pants that were cut out on the sides and then sewn back together with black leather bows.

"You look hot, trust me Letty, you're gonna be more covered than most of the girls there, hell you're wearing more clothes than some of our friends wear to school!" She told me

"Than you wear to school." I replied under my breath

"Shut up!" She scolded adjusting her tiny shorts and her corset top, her boobs were pushed up so high they nearly fell out of her top.

I opened my mouth to continue my protests but was silenced by the sound of a horn from my drive way.

"That'll be Nick." Mia giggled, grabbing her purse off of my bed

"They're here already?" I asked surprised

"Letty, it's after 10:00." She laughed

"Holy shit! How long did it take for you to put all this war paint on me!?" I asked pointing to my face

"Only about an hour." She said simply

I swallowed my shock and grabbed my wallet out the dresser, "Let's go." I said handing it to Mia so she could stuff it in her purse.

We clunked noisily down the stairs, me in my combat boots and Mia in her chunky heels, and rushed out the door.

"Hey guys!" Mia called out as I locked the door and shoved my house keys in my front pocket

"Hey Mia, you clean up good!" I heard

I turned around and made my way down to the car to find not only Nick Rodriguez but Hector as well.

"Hey Hector!" I said slapping hands with my fellow grease monkey

"Hey Letty. I'm stoked you're coming out, you're in for a real treat girl!" He said

I smiled and nodded at him as he pulled the passenger seat forward so I could crawl into the back seat of the Chevy Impala with Mia.

"Who's ride is this?" I asked Hector, I was pretty sure it wasn't his but I could have been wrong

"It's my brother's," Nick said eyeing me in the rear view mirror as he started up the car and backed into the street.

"Cool." I said

"Letty's a gear head, she works in the same garage as Dom and Vince, she's like their little sister." Hector explained

I cringed at being called Dom's sister, and Mia gave me a warning look.

"That's crazy, so you ever work on the charger with Mr. Toretto?" Nick asked

I chuckled, Mr T's racing skills weren't a big secret around town. "Nah, he's never offered and I would never ask, it's kinda his and Dom's special thing."

"That's cool, you go to the races with them though right?" Nick asked

"Yeah, Letty's been to more of my Dad's races than any of us." Mia chimmed in

"Dom says you never miss one." Hector said

I fought the urge to crack a smile, "When did he say that?" I asked

"The other week when I asked him if I could come up to the race this weekend with him, he told me there was no room because all four of you guys are going and that if I wanted a ride I could try and talk Mia out of coming but not to bother with you because you've never missed one." Hector explained

I nodded and turned my attention to the window, we had come to an abandoned warehouse district, where cars lined an ally way between two large abandoned buildings. About three blocks ahead, on the main road that lead you back to town cars blocked off the ally way, I could see people standing around those cars and assumed that was where the racing happened.

"You ok Letty? You look like you're about to cry?" Nick teased

I flipped him the bird, but never took my eyes off of some of the gorgeous machines that were parked along our path.

"Ignore him Letty, I almost pissed myself the first race I came to." Hector said as Nick pulled the car into an open spot.

Hector jumped out and pulled the seat forward so that Mia and I could crawl out. Once we were standing upright on the pavement the guys began walking towards the crowd gathered near the race. I on the other hand wanted to cruise around and inspect some of the cars along the way.

"You guys go ahead, I'll come find you in a bit!" I told Mia and the two boys

"Letty, come on, the races are this way!" Mia said, somehow in the time that it took for me to crawl out of the car behind her, she'd snuggled up to Nick who now had his armed draped across her shoulders.

"Let her go Mia. She'll be alright." Hector said winking at me.

I nodded them off and then headed towards a purple Nissan 240sx. It was beautiful! Running a V8 with the works I looked up from the hood only to search for the owner.

"You like what you see?" a tall Asian guy asked me

"Yeah, is it yours?" I asked him

"Nah, it's my buddy Jason's, he rolls with my crew though, and I put in most of the wrench time." The guy said

"Sweet, she's a beauty." I told him

"Thanks, you a grease monkey?" He questioned

"Yeah," I chuckled easily, "how can you tell?"

"I can see a car guy from a mile away, or in your case a car girl." He said

"I didn't think I was that obvious." I blushed

"Honey, you're the only girl in a three mile radius that has even noticed that there are cars around here." He laughed

"Yeah I noticed that, the chicks around here seem to be more interested in the guys than the cars." I commented

"Well they don't call them racer chaser's for nothing." He laughed

I busted out laughing, "racer chasers?" I asked

"Yeah, you know, the girls that come to the race with the intention of screwing the guy who took home the biggest pot." He said

"That's hilarious, I usually just call them skanks, but racer chasers has a nice ring to it." I laughed

"I always thought so." He said holding out his hand, "I'm Johnny Tran."

"I'm Letty, Letty Ortiz." I said shaking his hand politely

"You go to Adams right? With my sister Trina?" He asked

"Oh yeah!" I said, recalling a slightly mousey girl who was always raising her hand to answer questions in math.

"Yeah, my other sister is at Adams too, Jayna? She's a senior though so I'm not sure if you'd know her." He continued

I shuddered at the thought, Jayna was a skank tride and true. The rumors that got around about her made the Scarlet Letter sound like a children's book.

"I've heard of her." I said politely, not wanting to ruin this guys image of his poor sister

"A lot of people have." He said knowingly

I ducked my head to hide my guilty grin.

"You go to Adams?" I asked, confused as to why I had never seen him before

"No, I graduated a year ago." He replied

"Oh cool, you might know a few of my buddies, Dominic and Vince?" I asked

"You're friends with Toretto?" Johnny asked sounding surprised

"Yeah," I said, "I work at his dad's garage and I'm really good friends with his sister."

"Oh cool, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, car people usually get pulled to Dominic Toretto." He lauged

"That they do." I agreed awkwardly

Johnny continued to make small talk with me, and even went so far as to show me some of the details of the mods he'd made to this car. After a while he seemed to get distracted and eventually we said our goodbyes.

I continued my rounds and eventually made my way up to the race line. Pushing my way through the front of the crowd I stepped out next to the hood of a purple spider that was being used as a marker for the race track.

I could see headlights as the next two race cars made their way to the start line, I stood just a few hundred yards from the finish line almost vibrating with the anticipation of watching my first street race.

I heard the crowd roar as the flag girl stepped out between the two cars and raised her flag. After what seemed like an eternity she brought it down and the two cars were flying towards the finish line at top speed. It only took a second for me to realize that the car on the left hand side was Dom's RX-7. I couldn't help but cheer as I watched him soar over the final line almost a whole length in front of his opponent.

I couldn't see his face, but I could feel his excitement, he whipped the wheel to the right and began turning dougnuts a mere ten feet from where I was standing.

And then it all went to hell. Before I could even recognize what had happened the car came flying towards me, clipping my side and sending me flying onto the hood of another car. The car continued to spin, finally coming to a rest about 45 yards away.

Gasping in pain I held my hand against my now bleeding side and cried out. People began to take notice and rush over to help me. I heard a car door slam followed by a deep bellowing voice.

"Letty?" Dom asked a mixture of concern and confusion in his voice.

I gritted my teeth and tried my best not to cry or make a sound. Slowly Dom and Vince pushed their way to the front of a crowd that had quickly surrounded me.

"Letty, what the hell are you doing here babe?" Vince asked kneeling down next to me.

"I came to see the cars." I ground out simply, wishing the ground would swallow me whole. Of course he'd hit me, Just my luck!


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Can I just say that I was so grateful for all of the reviews I got on the prologue and the first chapter. I know it's been about two days I am really sorry for the long stretch, I had to buy a new computer yesterday after my old one crashed and I ended up having to rewrite some of the story. The good news is that I am going to try my darnedest to update on a daily basis. **

**Like I said before, I love reviews, they help me to keep interest in the story! so please read and review! **

**Thanks Claylyn**

The gash on my side was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be, while it would definitely leave a scar, it wasn't going to need stiches, which meant no hospital, and consequently, no as kicking from my mother.

"He's so lucky he didn't hurt you worse!" Mia harped on as we drove home.

I rolled my eyes, she'd said that nearly five times on the 10 minute drive back to my house. It really hadn't been that bad, but leave it to Mia to be dramatic.

"There was a lot of blood when I first saw it, but once Hector cleaned it off I was pretty sure that you were gonna be just fine." Nick said

"Yeah it doesn't even hurt that bad, he barely clipped me." I lied

Nick looked me in the mirror and rolled his eyes and Hector chuckled, "You see what I'm saying, she's a hard ass this one." He told Nick.

We pulled into my empty driveway and Mia and I climbed out of the car. After saying our thank you's and our goodbyes, we hurried up the driveaway and into my front door.

"I'm going to shower really quickly and try to get cleaned up!" I told Mia, as we climbed the steps.

"Ok," She said, "I'll look for a movie for us to watch." And with that she headed down to the living room to find a video.

I locked the bathroom door and stripped down to my underwear. My side was covered in dried blood and the area where I was cut was still seeping a bit. Slowly peeling off my underwear I turned on the hot water and carefully stepped into the shower.

I winced as the soap stung my open wound, and nearly cried at the pain caused by my loofa running over the bruised skin. Eventually I finished my shower, rinsing out my hair and washing off all the soap, I grabbed a towel before stepping out onto my mother's pink bath mat to dry.

"Mia! You're turn." I called as I stepped out of the bathroom and into the hall.

I heard my bed creak as she stood up and padded barefoot to the bathroom.

"You feel better?" She asked me

"Much! Shower was just what I needed!" I smiled

Laughing, she rolled her eyes and stepped into her bathroom, carrying one of my unused towels with her.

I waddled my way down the hall and into my room to get dressed, dropping my towel on the floor I reached into my underwear drawer and grabbed a pair of black boy shorts. I put them on very carefully in an effort not to jostle my sore side.

Next I wiggled into my bright blue sports spra. I was in so much pain it brought tears to my eyes. I found a cotton pair of soffee shorts and slipped them on and decided to call it good.

Just as I was about to crawl into bed, my phone sounded, signaling an incoming call.

"Ugh!" I growled, snatching my phone off of the dresser.

"Hello?" I snapped

"Letty?" I heard a deep voice crawl over the phone

"Dom?" I asked

"Hey," he said, "come outside."

"What?" I asked confused

"Come outside!" He said a bit louder.

Silently I walked over to the window and peeked out of it, and sure enough, standing in my driveway in a wifebeater and jeans was Dominic Toretto.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded

"Come down and find out!" He snapped

"Are you fucking crazy, my mom is gonna be home any minute!" I lied

"Mia said she doesn't get off till 3?" He questioned

"Oh right?" I said lamely, realizing that I was caught

I sighed and began my trek down the stairs. Unlocking the door I held it open and waited for him to come in. Once the door was locked behind him, I hung up the phone and turned to face him.

"Hey." He said

"Hey?" I replied confused

"I'm sorry to show up like this, I just…. I wanted to apologize for almost running you over." He chuckled, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck

"I told you it was cool at the race man." I told him

"Yeah I know you did, but I also know that I am 100% in the wrong on this one, and honestly I feel really bad Letty." He chuckled

"It's fine Dom. No harm no foul." I told him

He nodded and gave me a small smile, "is your hip ok?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"It's alright, a little scratch and a bit of a bruise, but I'll live." I said simply

"Mind if I have a look?" He said, his eyes dropping to my bandaged side

I nodded awkwardly and unraveled the bandage that I had used to tape myself up in. Dom reached out and pulled away the gauze pad and gasped when he saw my wound.

"Oh Letty." He said, sounding a bit too much like Mia in that moment for my liking

"It's not as bad as it looks Dom." I said

He took a deep breath before he replaced the pad and helped me to wrap my midsection back up.

"I'm fine." I said once he'd secured the tape back in place.

Dom looked at me hard, as if he was studying me. He opened up his mouth and started to speak, but before he could get it out, Mia called from the top of the stairs.

"Letty, where'd you go?" She asked

I took a step away from Dom, only just realizing that we had been standing very close.

"Hey Mia." He said, cluing her in to his presence

"Dom?" She asked, coming down to see if her guess was indeed fact.

"Yeah, uhm - I uh just came by to see if Letty was alright, and to apologize for almost killing her today." Dom said, looking at me from the corner of his eye

I wasn't sure why, but my gut was telling me not to look at him.

"Well good, you should feel terrible, that's what you get for trying to be a hot shot." Mia scolded lovingly

"Showing off isn't a bad thing! You had just won the race, you were happy, I think you deserved to do a couple of doughnuts." I said, coming to Dom's defense.

"Not to the point where someone gets hurt." Mia snapped at me

"It's fine Mia, knock it off." I scolded

Her eyes spread open wide and I could see that she was hurt by my defense of her brother, but I didn't feel like there was a reason. Yes, Dom nearly ran me over, but he didn't, so why couldn't we just let it go.

"Look, I just came by to say I'm sorry, but I gotta go." Dom said awkwardly

I nodded, and Mia marched back up the stairs to change, stomping the whole way like an angry child.

"I don't get what her tiff is." I said out loud, more to myself than anyone else.

"She's just upset, she's angry about what could have happened. You know Mia. She gets mad if you do something she doesn't like in a dream she has, regardless of the fact that you can't control what her dream version of you does." Dom chuckled

"I know, but I really don't want you guys to make a big deal out of this." I said

"That's fine, but I really needed to get it off my chest. I couldn't sleep." He said

"Why not?" I asked confused

"Because I almost killed my friend." He said incredulously.

I couldn't help myself, I laughed, "Dom, we're coworkers, I'm your little sister's best friend, but I am hardly your friend."

He frowned, scrunching his brows together. "We're friends." He said

"You and Vince are friends, you tolerate me Dom. I'm not your friend, I'm just kind of there. Don't feel bad about it, I don't it's just how you guys look at me. I get it, I am younger and I'm a girl and I don't really fit in with you guys…"

"You practically live at my house Letty, of course I consider you a friend." Dom cut me off, I could sense the frustration that he'd been keeping at bay coming to the surface.

"Dom, you Vince and Kevin B. spent half an hour yesterday at the garage talking about how I'm a dyke and it's sad that guys don't want me." I said

_Flashback _

_Mr. T had let me take my break first on Thursday because I had shown up a good hour before Dom, Vince, and KB. KB was the neighborhood drop out, who happened to have a way with body work on cars, so Mr. T had given him a job to keep him from stirring up trouble around town. _

_I took my lunch into the air conditioned office and sat on the squishy couch to eat. I spent some time working on my math homework, and finished reading for my history class before I decided that I was done with my break. Quietly, I packed up my books, threw away my sandwich wrapper, and headed back out into the garage. _

_ "__It's really unfortunate," I heard KB say as I slid under the Honda I had been fixing the breaks on. None of the boys had acknowledged me but that wasn't unusual_

_ "__She's like a little boy, that's what happens when you don't raise them right. Her mama should have taken her to ballet or something, now she would rather be a boy." He continued, I began to listen with interest to their conversation, _

_ '__who are they talking about?' I thought to myself _

_ "__Yeah but just because she's a tomboy doesn't mean she likes girls." Vince argued _

_ "__But is it really being a tomboy any more. I mean Letty has always been a bit rugged, but she's been getting a bit dyke-y lately." Dom said _

_ "__You sure you want Mia hanging around that?" KB asked him_

_ "__I don't know, I mean I guess Mia will figure it out eventually and distance herself in a kind way." Dom said _

_I felt my breath stop in my chest and tears began stinging my eyes.__Aside from t__he fact that Dom was kind of my hero, as much as I hated to admit it, I did have a baby crush on the kid. Not to mention that I considered him and Vince to be friends of mine, or the fact that I didn't really even know KB. _

_I took a silent breath and shook the tears off. The boys' conversation drifted off to a different topic and I tried extra hard to lose myself in my work. When I finished the breaks on the Honda, I tip toed back into the office, slinging my back pack over my shoulder, I wrote Mr. T a quick note before slipping out the back door and running home._

Dom's eyes were full of guilt and pity, but neither made me feel any better.

"You weren't supposed to hear that Letty, it was just stupid garage talk, we would never say something like that to your face." He said running a hand over his head.

"I know you wouldn't, but you would think it, if we were friends like you say we are you would know me better than to let that shit cross your mind, or better yet, than to judge me based on what Cosmo magazine says a woman should be." I said

"I am really sorry Lett." Dom said, I could tell he was searching for more words to make me feel better, but in that instant I just wanted to be rid of him.

"Dom, it's not worth the worry, honest. You barely see me outside the garage anyway, it isn't a big deal." I laughed, trying to make light of the situation

Dominic frowned again and I sighed, walking over to the door, I pulled it open and waited for him to come over.

"You gotta get out of here before my mom and my aunty get home." I said dryly

He looked at me hard for a moment. It was as if he was studying me. I tried my best to avoid his gaze, and finally after nearly a minute of his silent expression, he nodded.

"I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow." He said awkwardly before shuffling out side.

I closed the door gently behind him, twisting the lock on it. I sighed and made my way up to my room.


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's my update for the day, within 24 hours as promised!**

**I just want to thank everyone for the reviews, they make me so happy! I love hearing your thoughts, for those who want Dom and Letty together right away, you're gonna have to wait a bit, we need to draw out the drama a little while don't you think? Anyway, let me know what you think of this! **

**Mahalo**

**ClayGirl**

Dom's POV

Over the next few days I tried my best not to let what Letty said bother me. I don't know why I cared, but I couldn't shake the feeling a dread that kind of sat in my stomach. What made it worse was that she didn't act like anything had changed. She was still quiet at the garage, but she continued to come in and do great work. She still talked to my dad as though he was her own father, hell she even seemed to be on speaking terms with Vince, but for whatever reason she didn't seem to interact with me.

"Has Letty been acting weird lately?" I finally asked Mia one night while she was finishing dinner

"What do you mean by weird?" She asked

"I mean the last two days has she seemed quiet to you?" I pressed

Mia looked at me strangely and shook her head, "No, not to me." She replied

I sighed, nodded at her, and turned to leave.

"Dom," She called just as I was about to leave the kitchen.

"Yeah?" I asked

"What's going on?" She asked, I could see in her face she wanted to know why I would suddenly ask about Letty, but I really didn't have an answer for her.

"Nothing, I just haven't heard her say more than two words to me since Friday night." I replied

Mia frowned. "Do you and Letty normally talk at the garage?" She asked

I stared at her blankly, trying to remember the last time Letty and I had actually had a conversation. Since she had come to work at the garage almost a year ago, only one stuck out in her mind, and it was the conversation she, Vince, and I had about my RX-7 when I bought it for my 18th birthday.

"I mean, I guess not." I said, feeling slightly sad for some reason.

Mia rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath about cluelessness and I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Letty told you she doesn't consider you guys friends, right?" Mia asked

"Well, yeah, she basically said we don't really have any relationship directly between us." I said sadly

"And you now feel like you need to prove that you guys have some sort of a relationship because….?" Mia questioned

"Because I have always just kind of included her in my group of friends." I said

"Bullshit." Mia cursed

I tensed my jaw, Mia never swore, "What do you…" I started, but she cut me off

"You don't include Letty in shit. You include Vince, Hector, maybe sometimes Edwin or Kevin, but you don't include Letty. Most of the time you look at her as a bother, the rest of the time you pretend she isn't there, and yet she always seems to be. You're just used to having her around, and you don't like hearing that someone doesn't think the world of you." Mia snapped

"Where did that come from?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"It's very frustrating for me Dom, Letty is my best friend, and yes she's tough, but she is also a person, and people have feelings. You and Vince forget about her, not realizing that aside from Dad, you two are her heroes. She wants you guys to think that she's cool, she likes feeling like one of the guys, but you do see her that way." She explained

"None of the other guys treat Letty any differently than I do!" I agrued

"Yes they do Dom, Hector and Letty hang out all the time, and Vince has been teaching her to drive so that she can take her driver's test on Monday. Even Edwin talks to her when she's around. He's offered to take her to the races, but not you King Dom. The one person who's approval she wants the most pretends he can't see her." Mia said

I felt like shit. In all my life I had never felt so small. I gave Mia a sad look and walked into the living room. Sitting on the couch, I flicked on the TV.

All of my friends made time for the little Latina from down the road, but I was too busy. I was too cool and it cost me one of the kindest people I had ever known as a friend.

The next morning I woke up with a brilliant plan, it was going to drive Mia crazy, but it was a really good idea.

"Mia wake up!" I said, pushing open her bedroom door and marching in

She frowned a bit in her sleep and turned over. "Mia, wake up" I said shaking her

"I need your help." I continued

"What do you want Dominic." She snapped, fianlly opening her eyes

"I want you to help me throw Letty a birthday party tomorrow." I said to her

"What?" She asked confused, "Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because," I said pausing trying to figure out why I wanted to do this

"Because what?" Mia growled

"I don't know, just because, are you gonna help me?" I asked her

Mia sighed and rolled her eyes, "You want to do this at dad's race?" She asked

"No, I was thinking after, when we get back from the race." I replied

"Fine, I will cook, and make sure her friends are here." Mia said

"No, I will get her friends, and I was gonna barbeque." I said

"Then what the hell are you waking me up for." Mia snapped

"I need you to ask Dad if we can use the house, and if you wouldn't mind making it look partyish, and maybe making a cake?" I asked

"Ugh, fine, I will take care of it, can you leave now?" I asked him

I was stoked, this weekend was going to end great afterall. Since there was not school on Monday, dad agreed to enter in a stock car race in LA and take us with him. He'd done really well in his Saturday race, and had been in a good mood since, so I figured he'd be ok with us using the house for Letty's birthday party.

Mia and I spent most of Sunday getting things in order for Letty's birthday party. Dad even gave Mia money for food and stuff saying that 16 was a big deal. We had everything in place by the time we left for the race on Monday morning, but keeping a secret from Letty wasn't Mia's forte.

By the time we were in the cars headed back home Letty was angry, and demanding to know what was going on.

"Something is happening that you all aren't telling me about." She grumbled from the back of my Mazda.

"Letty you're being paranoid." Vince said, trying to calm her down

"I'm not the one acting like I robbed a bank last night." Letty grumbled

I chuckled as we turned onto our street, I could see all of the cars parked up the road trying their best to hide. I had invited everyone from the races that Letty knew, and got Hector and Edwin to get me all of her friends from school.

We pulled into the driveway and all climbed out. Letty, being in a bad mood, stomped her way up to the house and snatched the key out from under the front door mat. The moment she pushed the door open, half of LA shouted "SURPRISE!"

"What the fuck is going on here." She screamed

Vince and I fell out laughing, but my dad, who had just parked the trailer infront of the house frowned

"Watch your mouth Leticia." Tony scolded

Letty had the decency to blush and look ashamed before turning to Vince, Mia, and I.

"Mia are you responsible for this?" She asked

Mia rolled her eyes, "No Letty, this time it wasn't me who tried to do something nice for you."

Letty scowled and looked at my dad. "Don't look at me," He told her

"Well if it wasn't Mia, and it wasn't you, then who?" She asked

Mrs. Ortiz stepped forward and ushered us all further into the house.

"Letty, Dom wanted you to have a sweet 16 party." Her mother told her

Letty stopped dead in her tracks. Whipping around to look at me, her eyes found mine and I could see her shock.

"You did this?" She asked

I shoved my hands into my pockets and nodded, kicking the floor.

"How did you know it was my birthday today?" She asked

I looked up at her and frowned, "Letty, I've known you since I was nine, I know when your birthday is." I said simply

She nodded and turned back to the party full of awkwardly waiting guests, putting on a smile she walked into the crowd and began hugging everyone she could reach. "Thank you so much." She kept saying over and over again. Just knowing that she appreciated it was enough to make it all worthwhile.


	5. Chapter 4

**So I know it's been a few days since my last update, but as a result I made this chapter WAY longer than the others. I just couldn't cut it off. I like to stop my chapters at the natural break in the story, and this one took a long time to give me a natural break.**

**Anyway, you know the drill, please review so that I can keep writing... Oh and be forewarned, we are going to see the more aggressive side of Dom in the next few chapters, he's a two sided coin people, both soft and gruff, he is trying to find his balance as is Letty! We shall see what happens :)**

Letty POV

While the party wasn't what I had expected to come home to, it was a great way to celebrate my 16th birthday, and I couldn't help but feel grateful to Dom for putting it all together. After eating, and talking to my mom, and some of my friends, I wondered out to the driveway, looking for the man who I had to that for all of it.

I heard clanking around in the garage and immediately knew it was Dom, Mr. T never worked on the charger right after a race, preferring to unwind before he went back into the grease pit.

I slid in between the door and scooted along the wall, careful not to make a sound. "So Mia wasn't lying, you're responsible for all this." I said folding my arms across my chest.

Dom jumped about a half a mile in the air at the sound of my voice and I had to stifle a laugh.

"I… I um." He stuttered and I laughed

"Ahem, I thought it would be nice for you to celebrate with your friends." He said clearing his throat

"Then why are you hanging out in the garage." I asked him with a smirk

"Because you said that we weren't friends." He replied, I could see just a glimmer of the sadness my words had caused in his eye and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty

"I did, and you did this any way." I replied

"Yeah, I did." He said, turning back to the desk on which he had been tinkering with a part for his car.

"Why?" I asked, hoping to sound inquisitive, but it came across as gruff and accusatory, "I just mean, that if someone said I wasn't their friend, I wouldn't plan them a birthday party." I clarified

He was quiet for a moment, before he turned back around to look at me.

"You and Mia threw me a 16th birthday party, and then you helped her do one for Vince, and then you helped Dad throw one for Mia, why did you do those things?" He asked

"Because I wanted to do something nice for my friends." I said simply

"Well then, you've answered your own question." He said with a sad sigh

I blinked a few times before realizing what was going on. "Oh my god." I said in disbelief

"What?" Dom asked sounding a bit annoyed

"I hurt your feelings." I said shocked

He looked at me hard for a moment, and then his face softened, "you didn't hurt my feeling Lett." He lied

"Yes I did, I hurt your feelings. You are upset I said we aren't friends." I told him

"Let's get one thing straight," he said standing up, "You said that you didn't consider me your friend, I have always considered you my friend."

I was surprised by the amount of bass in his voice, I couldn't even come up with a response.

"You have a funny way of showing it." I said after a long silence

"Yeah, well I don't know what to tell you Letty, I'm kind of a dick." He said

We stared at eachother long and hard before both of us burst into laughter. I laughed hard, so hard tears leaked out of my eyes, so hard that I couldn't really breathe. For minutes on end we laughed, until we both ended up on the floor, leaning back against the charger wiping our tear streaked cheeks.

"I'm sorry for what Vince and I said to KB at the shop that day." Dom said once the giggling had died down

"Don't worry.." I tried to tell him, but he cut me off

"No Lett, I crossed a line and I didn't think about how what I said would hurt you, and I'm sorry. It was wrong." He said

"It's ok," I replied patting his knee

"You're one of my friends Lett, one of my best friends, please don't forget that." He said holding my hand in his for a moment. I nodded and he let me go.

"You're one of my best friends too, I shouldn't have said otherwise." I told him

"I'm kinda glad you did." He chuckled

We spent the rest of the party there, sitting on the filthy garage floor waiting for people to leave so we could go in and play video games. We talked about everything under the sun, from school, to skanks and guys, to the cars we wanted to own when we were rich.

Finally at around midnight Tony came in to tell us I had to go home.

"I let you guys stay out here almost an hour past curfew. Now Letty you need to get home and Dom you need to get to bed." He said sternly

Dom and I didn't argue, I set off down the road and hurried up my driveway. It was only as I looked over my shoulder when I shut the door that I realized that Dom had stood in his own driveway. Watching to make sure I made it home. In a small moment of excitement, my heart swelled, only to deflate as I knew it would never be.

Dom and I spent a ton of our time together that week, he'd invited me to sit with him and some of his boys during lunch, and I of course invited Mia. We'd played video games after work at the shop, he and Vince came with me when I took my driver's test, heck we'd even put in some wrench time on the charger together with Mr T.

It was beginning to feel like old times, so imagine my surprise when Dom told me I couldn't go to an after party that was being held Friday night after the races.

"You wouldn't fit in Letty, the guys go there to pull pussy, and you're not into girls." He said running his hand over his head

We were standing in the back of the garage trying to quietly go 12 rounds, "maybe I just wanna hang out?" I said

"You won't be able to, that's what I'm trying to tell you, they guys are totally focused on who the hottest piece of ass in the room is, and you would be awkwardly chilling in a corner, and then I would feel obligated to come hang out with you." He grumbled

My eyes flashed with anger, "You aren't my father Dominic, I don't need a baby sitter or someone to rescue me when I'm being a wall flower." I snapped

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "That's not what I'm saying." He argued, but I was having none of it

"And what if I want to be pulled?" I demanded hotly

Dom looked quizzically at me for a moment, "What do you mean?" He asked

"I mean, you said that they guys go to these events to pull pussy right? Well what if I want to get pulled!" I yelled

"Oh come on now!" He shouted back, "you and I both know you aren't like that Letty."

"You don't know jack, for all you know I could be banging the basketball team." I said coolly

"I know that you don't have time to screw random strangers." He snapped

I rolled my eyes, "I'm coming to that party." I said firmly

Dom shook his head and huffed out a breath, without another word he stomped back into the garage and left me seething. If he thought that was going to be the end of it, he was fricken nuts.

That Friday, Mia and I headed over to my house after school, I had asked Tony to let me take the afternoon off and he was more than willing. In a matter of a few hours, we transformed my bedroom into a beauty salon, and I sat completely still, allowing Mia to primp and prep me to perfection.

She had gone shopping earlier in the week to help me execute my plan to stick it to Dominic, and let me tell you the outfit she picked out could stop a truck. After Mia finished pulling my hair straight with her flat iron, she helped me into a light blue halter top that clung to my chest, and plunged in the middle, giving me the world a great view of my cleavage. Mia also found me a tiny pair of black leather shorts that hugged my hips and shaped my butt nicely.

"You look like a very expensive stripper." Mia said finishing her own makeup.

It was nearly time for us to leave.

"You think?" I teased

"Well I for one think it would have been way more rewarding to go to the races than to this party." Mia said

"Yeah, but Dom would have taken one look at us and sent us home, and then I wouldn't get to go to the party which was the whole point." I explained to her

Mia rolled her eyes and tossed the mascara tube onto the bed. "Well, I'm done, you ready?" She asked

I nodded, grinning evilly. I slipped on the black wedge heels Mia had let me borrow and followed her down the stairs. It was almost Midnight, so we had to be quiet not to wake my mother or my aunt and her kids.

I swiped my mother's car keys off the hook in the kitchen and rushed out the door. We were in the car in seconds, and down the street before anyone knew any better.

"You think Dom's gonna be mad?" Mia asked, sounding worried

She was always like this, she never thought a plan through all the way until it was half way done being executed.

"If he is, what's he gonna do. He can't tell your dad." I reminded her as we cruised the nearly empty L.A. streets.

"I just don't want to get into it with him while we're there." She said

"If he starts, then we just walk away, find somewhere to hide and when he's gone we go back to our good time." I said simply

Mia nodded, and I turned the wheel bringing us one street closer to the party.

When we finally found the place, the streets were so full of cars that we had to park near the top of the street and walk down the block. Mia took a moment to fix us both before we walked in.

"Hey pretty girl." A man called as we stepped in the door.

I smiled and waved over at Edwin, "What are you doing here? I didn't see you at the races tonight?" He asked hugging me first and then Mia

I rolled my eyes at his greeting, Edwin never hugged me! "I couldn't make it out tonight," I told him, "I had to take care of a few things, Dom told me about this party though, I figured it's the next best thing." I laughed

Edwin slung an arm around both Mia's and my shoulders and steered us further into the party, "Well in that case, let me get you both a drink, any requests?" He asked

I shrugged and looked at Mia, neither of us really drank, but I'd had a few sips of Carona when Dom and Vince would swipe beers from Tony. "You guys got Carona?" I asked

"Of course!" he laughed, "and for you princess?" He asked mia

"I don't know, something sweet, so I can't taste the liquor." She giggled

Edwin nodded, "I got just the thing for you. Be right back." He said

I watched Edwin weave through the crowd. Mia and I wandered through the large crowded living room searching for familiar faces, finally I found Adrian, one of the guys from my shop class. He did a double take when he saw me, and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

I turned to Mia to tell her to come with me, but she was deep in conversation with a sandy blonde kid who seemed vaguely familiar. "Hey, I see a friend of mine, I'm gonna go say hi." I told her

She nodded and waved me off, never taking her eyes off her new friend. I chuckled and rolled my eyes, walking towards Adrian and his crew.

"Hey Age, how ya livin?" I asked him

"I'm good Letty, how are… you look…" he stammered before clearing his throat, "you look hot." He said, immediately looking like he regretted his choice of words

I found his nervousness flattering, a guy had never been unable to talk to me before, "Thanks." I blushed

He chuckled nervously and ran his hand though his wavy black hair. "Did you go to the race tonight with Dom?" He asked

"Nah, I had to do something so I just decided to come to the party instead." I explained

Edwin wandered up and handed me a beer, "What's good dog." He said bumping fists with Adrian.

Adrian nodded in his direction. "You guys going out to Race Wars next month? He asked Edwin

"Depends man, the way Dom's been racing, I can't see him losing anytime soon, we might have to head out there just so we can get people to drive against the guy." Edwin explained

"I hear that, lord knows I'm not gonna race him." Adrian chuckled

I rolled my eyes, "I would race Dom in a heartbeat." I chimed in

"That's because you're loca nena." Adrian chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist he pulled my body into his. Edwin took the hint an disappeared

"I'm not crazy," I said, enjoying the feeling of being held by a guy, "he's just not unbeatable, someday someone's gonna come along who can beat him, why can't it be me?"

"You dream big Ruca, I like that about you." He said, flirting shamelessly

"Please," I said rolling my eyes

"I'm serious mami, I think you're beautiful, but you never seem to notice me, howcome?" He asked me, I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was going out on a limb.

I blanched, "I-I just never knew, I figured you thought I was just one of the guys." I said

"Nah mami, you don't notice me because you only have eyes for the Alpha Dog." He said sadly

"Who?" I asked giggling at his nick name

"Dominic, that's your boy right, any one with eyes can tell." He said

I shrugged my shoulders and pushed away from him a bit. "Nah man. Dom and I are friends, I don't look at him that way."

"That's not the way he tells it." Adrian said

"What does that mean?" I asked him

"When I first asked about you last summer, Dom told me not to bother, said you had a crush on him for years." Adrian explained

I laughed heartily to surpress my anger. Dom had no right to say shit like that, despite us trying to be friends recently, he didn't know anything really about me.

"Dom's full of himself, I haven't had a crush on him since the 3rd grade." I sassed

Adrian's face betrayed his joy at my words and it took everything I had not to laugh at him, "So then why don't you have dinner with me tomorrow night, I'll take you somewhere nice, and then we can go see a movie or something?" He asked

I had never been so flattered, Adrian was a handsome kid, and here he was asking me on a date! I couldn't believe it, I would have to thank Mia later for the outfit.

I opened my mouth to agree, but before I could get a word out I felt someone yanking me backwards by my arm.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dom demanded, looking angrily from me to Adrian

I swallowed my shock and squared my shoulders, ready for what was surely going to be a fight. "Who the hell do you think you are putting your hands on me like that!" I growled

"Answer my question!" He ordered

"We were just talking Dom, I wasn't gonna try anything slick I promise." Adrian said reaching for my hand to pull me out of Dom's angry reach

I could tell that Adrian's affection only spurred Dom's anger even further.

"You are supposed to be at home." Dom told me, ignoring Adrian's comments

"You aren't my mother, you have no right to tell me where I should be." I snarled

"You're right, you're not my daughter, but I can call Marisol and tell her exactly where her daughter is tonight, and what she's doing." Dom shouted, by now there was a crowd formed looking on at the fight brewing

"And I could easily ring Tony and let him know where his son is tonight." I said

"You wouldn't dare, and he'd never believe you." Dom said, but I could tell I had ruffled his feathers.

"He might not, but he'd believe me," Mia said stepping out of the crowd

"What the hell Mia!" Dom snapped

"You're not the only one who gets to do fun things Dominic." She said plainly, crossing her arms over her chest and earning some stared from the guys that had gathered round

"You're both 16, and way too young to be here." Dom snapped

"Oh please!" I cried, "Half the party is 16."

Dom's face was a mask of rage. I could tell that we were pushing him to new limits and I wasn't sure how long it would be before he snapped.

"You really want to do this Letty?" He asked angrily

I nodded, fixing him with a glare that could kill.

He set his jaw and glared back, before addressing the room, "Have at it boys, these _whores _are open for business." He said

Mia gasped, and I saw red, before I knew what came over me I clenched a fist, pulled back, and swung. The sound of skin on skin was satisfying as a perfect right hook connected directly with Dom's left eye. His head whipped to the side and he grunted at the force.

"Let's go Mia!" I shouted, we pushed our way through the crowd and out to the front drive.

"Letty! Wait up!" Adrian called out running after us.

I paused and turned to see what he wanted, "I still mean what I said, I would really like to take you out tomorrow." He said

I blushed and nodded, "Ok." I said

"Cool." He said pulling me into him for a quick hug

"You ok?" He asked me

"Yeah, I'm fine, believe it or not I have been called worse." I joked

Adrian frowned, "Well don't listen to him, you're definitely not a whore."

With that, Adrian kissed my temple and released me. Mia and I hurried up the street to my mother's car. As soon as we got back to my house we took turns with the shower and changing for bed. Exhausted from the crazy night I quickly fell asleep, my fist throbbing as a reminder of Dom's cruel words.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! New chapter is finished, i am thinking about jumping things forward a bit after this one and moving up a few months? THink this is a good idea? I have been loving all of your feed back and acknowledgements! Please keep them coming as they help me to keep writing! After reading the last batch of reviews, I was compelled to get to work! Keep me on task gang :) **

**XOXO**

I woke the next morning with a heavy feeling, Mia had cried herself to sleep the night before thinking I didn't notice, Dom's insult had really taken it's toll on her, but I couldn't help but feel like this is what I should expect of him.

It was a Saturday, which meant the garage didn't open till 10, so Mia and I made pancakes and ate in front of the TV before my mom came out to take us to work.

"Alright Mia, let's get you to the store, and Let, am I taking you to the garage? Or to Tony's?" She asked me

"Just take me to the garage." I answered

"Alright then, let's go." She said

Mia climbed in the back seat and I rode shot gun. My mother seemed happy as she hopped into the driver's seat. We were half way down the driveway when she asked the million dollar question.

"Either of you ladies want to tell me where you two went in the middle of the night last night?" She asked pleasantly

My jaw dropped in shock, I was sure that we had gotten away with it. How could she possibly know? Perhaps she was just fishing.

"We didn't go anywhere mom." I said, hoping she bought the lie

"I was in the kitchen when you girls left Letty, so how about you answer the question again." She replied

"We went to a party at one of Dom's friend's houses." Mia cracked

My mother eyed her in the rearview mirror. "Does this friend of Dom's have a name?"

"We don't actually know him, it was Dom who invited us." I said

"Then why did you need my car? Why not just ride with Dom?" she asked

"Because we didnʻt want to have to wait for him to finish screwing whatever skank he picked up to get home." I said bitterly

My mother gave me a sideways look, but said nothing as she pulled into the garageʻs driveway.

"You are in trouble Leticia. I am working late tonight, but let me tell you what, when I get home your butt better be in that house, and tomorrow morning you and I are going to have a very serious conversation." She said firmly as I climbed out of the car

"Fine mommy." I said

"And Mia, you're staying over tonight too, because we are also having a conversation tomorrow morning. You should both be thankful that I didn't call Tony." She said

I nodded my head and kept quiet as she pulled out of the driveway. Sighing I turned and marched up into the garage.

"Hey Lett." Vince called as I walked in

I nodded in his direction and made my way back towards the break room. I pushed open the door and came face to face with stupidity embodied.

"Letty." Dom said coolly, I noticed immediately that one of his eyes was purple with bruises and still nearly swollen shut, this gave me quite a bit of satisfaction.

I looked up at him as if he'd grown two heads. There was no way this idiot thought it was ok to speak to me after the way he'd talked to Mia and I last night. I walked past him over to my cubby and shoved my back pack in it. Snatching my coveralls from the hook I began dressing

"You could acknowledge that I said something to you." He said from behind me, I could feel him burning a hole in my back with his good eye.

"I'm in a whole lot of trouble because of you, my dad thinks I was out street fighting last night, you could at least say you're sorry for hitting me." He said

My eyes flew wide open. This guy was nuts, "I don't owe you shit, certainly not an apology!" I snapped

"Glad to hear you can still talk." He chuckled

I was fuming, "I can talk, I just choose not to talk to people who aren't worth my time, and you Dominic Toretto aren't worth half a second." I said

I stomped out of the break room and past Vince and stepped straight into Tony's office.

"Your son has crossed a line!" I shouted

Tony looked up at me from his paperwork and frowned, "What did he do now?" he asked me

I paused for a moment, realizing that I couldn't explain to Tony why I was upset without getting Mia in trouble, "he said something stupid, and I asked him not to speak to me, and he refused." I said lamely

Tony raised an eyebrow at me, he could spot a liar from a mile away.

"This have anything to do with that black eye he's currently sporting?" He asked me

"Maybe." I replied

"This have anything to do with that party you and Mia snuck out to last night?" He asked

I looked at him in shock, "We- there was… I mean." I stammered trying to come up with a proper response.

"You girls think I am foolish. I know like you know that Dominic and Vince went down to the train tracks to drag race, and I know there was a party afterward at Nick Rodriguez's house, and I know that you guys went to the party." He said

"How?" I asked lamely, in awe of how good Tony and my mom were

"I have known about the racing for a while, that car get's more work done here than any other vehicle in town, and you don't fry piston rings like that driving to and from school." Tony explained

I nodded understanding that Dom and Vince had really been quite stupid,

"I know about the party, because you and Dom were arguing about it last week, I am old Lett, I'm not deaf." He chuckled

"I don't think you're old or deaf." I said

"Compliments won't save your ass here Lett." He teased

I nodded and kept quiet

"And I know you and Mia went to that party because you are you, and Mia is Mia and Dom's never going to be able to tell you two what to do." He said

"No, someone told me." He said

"Who?"

"You just did Lett." He laughed

I rolled my eyes and huffed

"Sit down." He said gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

I sunk down into the chair and crossed my arms.

"You're not in trouble Letty, I get it honest I do. I remember being in highschool and racing my friends home from school in broad daylight, I'm not so old that I forgot what it's like to have fun, but something tells me you didn't have as much fun as you hoped, and maybe my son is the cause of that?" Tony went on knowingly

I nodded and began my story, for 15 minutes while I vented like a foolish school girl, Tony listened, he was as engaged in the story as I was and as silly as it sounds I was glad he was listening, even if he was only pretending to care, which it seemed like he wasn't.

"…And then Dom came over and jerked me away from this kid and told me that I had to go home, and so we started arguing, and I kept refusing to leave, and Mia was trying to stick up for me, so she told him we weren't leaving and he just kinda snapped. He made like this big announcement to the whole party and told them the 'whores were open for business', so I hooked him." I finished

Tony took a moment to absorb the whole story, and then he looked back at me and smiled, "honey a few years from now, it's gonna make so much sense why Dominic did what he did, he is gonna pay for what he said, but one day you will understand it." Tony said

I frowned, "So I am just supposed to be ok with it!" I asked

He shook his head, "No, you're supposed to be pissed, I am pissed, and Dom's gonna have a rough life over the next few weeks because of his mouth, but I think as mad as you are about him right now, one day you will feel much differently." He said

"He's an idiot." I said huffing

Tony laughed and nodded, "With a mouth that he needs to learn to control, although I bet he'll think twice about trying to mess with you again after that black eye."

I smiled.

"And what about this boy, Adrian? Did you ever get back to him on the date?" Tony asked

I blushed, "Actually I kinda forgot, he asked to take me to dinner and a movie tonight, do you think I could get off a bit early?"

Tony smiled, "How about I take you to go get Mia and you guys go to the mall and get some things while I work the store, I think I need some time before I talk to my son."

I resisted the urge to squeal and jump up and down, I had never been that kind of girl, but still the idea of my first date was exciting.

"OK!" I said happily

"Great, go put your coveralls back and meet me out back in 5." He said

I bounded out of the office, past Dom, Vince, and KB and headed straight to the break room.

"Oi! Where are you going there's shit we gotta do!" Vince called

Tony came down from the office and explained the situation to the boys, "I am giving Letty the day off so her and Mia can get some things before her date tonight."

I heard tools clatter to the floor and Dom's deep voice ask, "Who is Letty going on a date with."

"Someone she met at a party last night." Tony said, I could almost hear his sly grin

"Who?" Vince wondered curiously

I walked back into the garage, "This guy from school actually, his name is Adrian," I said shyly

"OH I know that kid, he's in advanced Auto Shop with us right Lett?" Vince asked

"Yeah." I said

"Cool dude. Have fun!" Vince said coming over to wrap an arm around me, "and don't take what the oaf said to heart, he's just pissy because someone else had more balls than he did." He said quietly so only I could hear

I blushed and nodded, not entirely sure what he meant. Tony motioned for me to follow him and we headed out on our way to grab Mia.

Mia was more than happy to take a day off of work in order to go shopping, and though I was reluctant to let her dress me, she had actually done a really good job of making me look classy.

I wore jeans and a plane forrest green tank top that clung to me in the right places but didn't make me look too slutty. I had managed to get her to agree to my leather jacket coming along but it was at the cost of my hair, which I wore down to my waist in long loose spirals that I secretly kind of liked

"You look so pretty sweetheart." Tony said as we all waited in my living room for Adrian to arrive

"Thanks Mr. T." I smiled

"No boys." He told Mia sternly

She laughed, "Oh daddy, you're way to late on that front, I'm a Toretto after all." She said tossing her silky brown hair over her shoulder

He frowned, but said nothing as the doorbell rang, interrupting the conversation.

I jumped to get the door, nervous about going out with this kid, "Hey Adrian." I said with a small smile

"You look stunning Ma." He said holding out his arms for a hug.

I stepped into his embrace slowly and was immediately in love with his sent, I wanted to burry my face in his chest and inhale his sent forever.

"Letty, You know when you have to be home yes?" Tony asked over my shoulder.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from Adrian and nodded, "Can we be back by 12:00?" I asked

"Yeah, I can do that." He smiled

Mr. T and Mia followed me out and waved Adrian and I off on our way.

Adrian and I went to a tiny Cuban restaurant near the center of town, he was the perfect gentleman, he opened my door, held out his arm, pulled out my chair, and at the end of dinner, he picked up the check, completely ignoring my insistence that I could pay for my own dinner.

"I invited you on a date Letty! Of course I am paying," He'd said when I objected

We went to see Aladdin, and I must say it was a good movie. A good movie that was only made better by the fact that Adrian laced his fingers through mine half way through. I was having an amazing night, there was nothing on earth that could ruin it.

Meanwhile at the Fort (Dom POV)

"Dominic," My dad said pushing open my bedroom door

"What's up?" I asked him, folding the car magazine I'd been reading

"You wanna come downstairs, you and I gotta talk." Dad said

I nodded and got up out of bed to follow him. In the living room, I plopped down onto the couch and he sunk into his armchair.

"So what happened last night at the party?" He asked after a moment

I looked at him in shock, "What do you mean?" I asked

"Well I have already talked to Mia and Letty, and they gave me their story, so I want to know if yours is the same?" Tony asked raising an eyebrow

'Shit, I'm screwed.' I thought to myself

"Look Dad, whatever they told you is probably pretty accurate, but there's something you gotta understand." I sighed, running a hand over my face.

"Yeah? What's that?" He asked

"I asked them not to go, at work on Monday, I asked Letty not to go because I know how guys treat girls at these parties, and I didn't want anyone on Letty and Mia like that." I said honestly

"Well that's fine son, but Letty and Mia are both 16, and they're going to date, you can't prevent that forever." Dad said

"I know, and I shouldn't have said what I said." I sighed

"What did you say?" Dad

"I'm assuming you have already heard from Letty and Mia." I said hanging my head

"You're right, and you can bet that this is why you're sitting here right now" he said

"I know it was wrong, but you don't understand, Letty was acting like all those skanky girls from school, I just didn't want that guy to pull something on her." I sighed

"Dominic, I am going to tell you something you need to hear, you are never going to get a girl like Letty to listen to you when you throw your weight around like that. There's just no point in trying to force her to do something, and more importantly son, Letty and Mia are allowed to date. In fact they should date, better they learn how to handle themselves around guys now than when they don't have you and Vince around to kill the guy if he breaks their heart." Dad chuckled

I nodded, "I just couldn't take Letty talking to that guy, I lost my shit and I shouldn't have." I said

"You know you owe her and Mia an apology right?" He said

"Yeah, I know." I agreed

"And you know that Lett's gonna make you grovel for her forgiveness right?" He asked

I nodded again.

"Last thing," My dad said standing up, "You're grounded for the rest of the month, your sister is going to be driving you to school and to work because you're not allowed to drive that car anywhere." Dad said

I looked at him shocked, "You're joking right? Mia drive my car?" I snapped

"Not joking even a little bit Son, if you don't want me to extend the grounding, you'll take your punishment like a man." My dad said

"I took Letty's right hook like a man, wasn't that enough?" I asked saltily

"No son, you earned the punch for acting like a bitch." Dad laughed, and with that he disappeared up the stairs.

I huffed out a breath and stared up as the ceiling. This was gonna be the longes three weeks of my life.

Letty.

A few minutes before Midnight, Adrian pulled his car into my driveway. Cutting off the engine, he slung an arm behind my seat and looked at me.

"You know I really had a good time tonight, I hope you did too." He said

"I had a lot of fun." I blushed

"You think that maybe we could do this again sometime? Maybe make this a regular thing?" He asked

Fighting back a cheesy smile I nodded, "Yeah, I would like that a lot." I said

"Great, well I better let you get inside Ma." He said blushing himself

I nodded and began undoing my seatbelt before I felt a rush of courage, I turned to face him and smirked slyly, "Are you gonna kiss me or what?" I asked

He chuckled a bit before leaning in and planting his lips on mine, he moved his mouth over mine slowly, and I went with the flow, trying to take my lead from him. As the kiss deepened, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as his tongue parted my lips. I opened my mouth a bit to let him in, and before I knew it we were engaged in a full blown make out session in his front seat.

"You should probably go inside Ma, I don't want your mother to never let me take you out again." He laughed finally breaking the kiss.

I smiled and let him kiss me one more time before I jumped out of the car and ran up to the door. I couldn't help the girly giggle that escaped me as I made my way up to my bedroom.


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello All!**

**I am back with another chapter for you all! I appreciate everyone's review's and I would love to have them keep coming in! Let me know what you think :) **

The next 6 months flew by. I had been steadily dating Adrian for a while and things had progressed pretty normally for a high school relationship. Despite the fact that my mom was furious when she found out her baby girl had lost her virginity to some gear head four months into dating him, she had warmed up to Adrian pretty quickly. Tony'd taken to inviting Adrian along to church on Sundays and even to Sunday Barbeque with the rest of our little family. It made me happy to see how well he got on with my friends. It seemed like Adrian made a good fit, the 16 year old silly girl in me could see us one day married with a picket fence, but I knew that was miles down the road.

In fact, the only person I knew who didn't ever seem to take to Adrian was Dom. At first I thought it was because of our fight at that party way back, but Dom and I had squashed that after me giving him the cold shoulder for a few weeks.

_Flashback. _

_I was bent over the hood of a tricked out Stingray that belonged to one of Tony's racer friends who had tried everything to find the leak in his radiator that was causing the car to overheat but hadn't succeeded. _

_ "__Letty's our radiator girl," He'd said to Daniel Hemingway. "She'll have it done by tomorrow afternoon." _

_It was nearly noon and I had still yet to find the problem. Frustrated, I tossed one of my tools at the nearest wall, wincing at the clattering it sound it made when it hit the floor._

_ "__No throwing things Lett!" Tony shouted from beneath a Chevy Pickup _

_I groaned and slammed my hands down on the edge of the Stingray._

_ "__You need some help." Dom asked, coming over to see what had me in such a tizzy._

_I hadn't spoken two words to him since the bitter conversation we'd had in the break room the morning after the party at Nick's house, and that had been nearly two weeks ago._

_Turning up my chin I pretended I couldn't hear him and continued to focus on my work. _

_ "__You know you can't ignore me forever." He sighed _

_I rolled my eyes, but kept my mouth shut._

_ "__You know I have been trying to catch you alone so that I could talk to you about what I said that night at the party." He said quietly _

_This sparked my attention, and though I kept quiet. I was sure this was gonna be good. _

_ "__I was wrong for trying to stop you from going, and I was really wrong for what I said." He continued _

_I looked on indifferently, he was going to have to do way better than that if he wanted to get a reaction out of me. _

_ "__I am really sorry Letty. I regret it all." He said _

_I made the mistake of meeting his eyes. The thing that most people didn't know about Dom was that his eyes always held the truth, and after years of watching him lie, cheat, and charm people I had gotten quite good at knowing when Dominic Toretto was telling me the truth. And at that moment, the look in his eyes told me he couldn't be more sincere._

_I huffed out a breath and rolled my eyes, "are you going to tell me what's wrong with it, or are you gonna keep spouting poetry at me?" I asked, lacing my voice with as much sarcasm as I could muster _

_Dom's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and before I could tell what had happened, Dom had nearly knocked me over with his bone crushing hug. _

As things returned to normal for Dom and I, I thought the hatred towards Adrian would stop, but as the weeks turned into months, and I brought Adrian around more, I noticed that Dom would subtly distance himself from Adrian.

When Adrian would come to church, Dom would sit in the back with Vince instead of in our usual spot with us. When Adrian would come to the garage, Dom would disappear out back or into the office until Adrian left, and if Adrian showed up at the Fort, Dom would mumble under his breath and stomp out of the room, locking himself inside his bedroom and ignoring our invitations for him to hang out.

As Adrian became a more frequent part of my life, Dom seemed to pull away from everyone more and more. Even Vince noticed and called him on it one day while Adrian was at the garage.

_ "__Letty?" Adrian called from the front door. _

_ "__Hey babe, come back!" I shouted, I was buried up to my elbows in the engine block of a '72 Mustang._

_ "__Hey baby girl." He said coming to peck my lips _

_I smiled at him, "Hey!" _

_ "__I brought you something to eat, want me to stick it in the back?" He asked, motioning toward the break room_

_ "__Yeah sure, that sounds nice." I said, not really paying attention to him_

_He chuckled at my intense focus on my work and walked back to put the food away. I was only half aware that Dom and Vince were still in the garage with me until I heard them talking _

_ "__This is crazy man, you're hiding under some rich guy's Volvo because you don't like her boyfriend?" Vince said _

_ "__He's a prick, I just would rather keep my distance, for Letty's sake." Dom replied _

_I looked in their direction shocked, neither could see me as Dom was laying on a dolly beneath a car, and Vince was crouched down working on the decals for Dom's Mazda. _

_ "__You hate the guy, I know, I just don't get why. I mean sure it's weird to see Letty dating, but it's not that much different from what we do." Vince argued _

_ "__She's fucking some loser that we don't even know Vince, I don't like it but Letty and I aren't in the place where I can tell her I think this guy's an asshole, so I need to stay away." Dom sighed _

_I wanted to stomp over and give him a piece of my mind, but something told me that he wasn't trying to provoke me. _

_ "__Is that really what this is about Dom?" Vince asked him_

_ "__What else would it be V?" Dom asked _

_ "__Well, it's just, Tony seems to think that this is more personal for you." Vince said quietly _

_ "__I know what my dad thinks. He's wrong V. It's not anything more than the fact that I get a weird vibe off the kid." Dom said _

_His deep voice had a tone of finality to it, and Vince didn't push the conversation further. _

Though Dom didn't ever push the issue with me, I could tell that he'd spoken with most people about Adrian and I one point or another. Still, he'd never said anything to me, and now that Adrian and I had been together for so long, it seemed like he was never going to.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Dom, Vince, and I had just gotten home from the garage and we were dead exhausted. We had all gone to the races the previous night and I had gone out to Adrian's house afterward for a few hours.

Tony had agreed to let us out without too many questions as long as we promised to be awake and functioning for work the next morning, and so the three of us dragged our ragged asses out of bed and made sure to be in the garage on time, despite the fact that we only had a few hours sleep a piece. Now that we were done with our day, we were nearly dead on our feet.

"I can't even think right now." Vince said as he collapsed on the couch next to where I was sitting

"I hope my Dad doesn't get pissed that we left a half hour early." Dom said from his spot on the armchair

"Dude, we were becoming a danger to ourselves." I said heavily

"I think I'm sitting out the races tonight." Dom said exhaustedly

"You think?" Vince snapped sarcastically

"Ugh, Adrian really wants to go tonight!" I grumbled

Dom grunted.

"Tell him you're really tired and that you have to be up early in the morning to go watch Tony's race." Vince said

"He's gonna be pissed." I said

"If he can't take it like a man then tell him to fuck off." Dom said

I looked at him in shock, but Vince cut in before I could say anything, "Geez princess, sounds like you need to go to bed right now."

The tension was diffused and we all laughed. "Guess I have been kinda harsh today." Dom laughed

We chatted slowly for a few more minutes before I decided that I was going to go and call Adrian and tell him I was staying in for the night. I got comfortable on Mia's bedroom floor and waited for his answer.

"Hey babe!" I heard after the 3rd ring

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked him

"I was just about to call you and ask you what time you wanted me to come pick you up for the races." He said

I sighed heavily, "Actually, about that, I don't think I'm gonna go tonight baby. I am so dead tired after last night and then 8 hours in the garage. Plus we all have to get up super early to drive to Palmdale for Tony's race."

"You're kidding me right?" He said a bit harshly

I sighed again, "Come on babe, don't be mad. I am dying, if I came out tonight I wouldn't be any fun."

He groaned, "I really was looking forward to you hanging out with me tonight."

"I know babe and I really want to come out with you, but I don't exactly want to sleep in your car at the race when I could sleep in my bed." I explained

"What are you gonna do tonight then?" He asked

"I am probably going to go shower and then study for my Chem exam until I fall asleep." I said

"Ok baby, just take it easy ok. I will see you tomorrow when you get back from Palmdale

"Ok. Bye baby." I said

I waited until he hung up before I flipped my phone shut, leaning against the foot of the bed I sighed.

"You guys don't say I love you?" Dom asked

I looked up to find him leaning against the door frame watching me curiously.

"Were you listening to my conversation?" I asked angrily

"No, I was coming up to take a shower and I caught your goodbye. I thought it was weird you didn't tell him you loved him." He said

"Not that it's any of your business, but we haven't told eachother we love eachother yet." I said bitterly

Dom raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I snapped

"You don't love him, but you're screwing him?" He asked me

I blanched at his bold words. "I never said I didn't love him just that I never told him." I said lamely

Dom said nothing as he walked into the room and slid onto the floor next to me.

"So you do love him?" He asked curiously

I rolled my eyes. This was the kind of conversation that I would be willing to have with Mia, but not with Dom. This had never been our relationship.

"I don't know, I have never been in love before Dominic." I grumbled

Dom looked at me for a long time before he shook his head and chuckled.

"What?" I asked

"Nothing, I was just trying to figure out if you actually love him, and then I realized I've never been in love either." He said quietly.


	8. Chapter 7

**I am so so sorry for not updating for so long, I am in the last few weeks of the semester, so I have spent a lot of time writting 20 page papers about things that don't mean half as much to me as this story does, so I am so sorry it has taken so long to get a reply out of me. That being said please read and review this chapter, I am thinking about dragging Dotty out a bit more? what do you think?**

Dom POV

That night as I lay in bed, I realized the fact that at 16 years old in highschool, Letty was more mature that I was at almost 19. I wasn't lying when I told her that I had never been in love, and an even more sobering fact was that I hadn't even been in a serious relationship.

I had bedded tons of girls without even a thought for what I was doing beyond the fulfillment of my own needs, but I was beginning to realize that I had missed out on something important. What Letty had with Adrian was starting to look like fun, and I wondered if that's why her being with him had bothered me so much, because I wanted what they had.

The weeks rolled by and I started to consider the possibility of being in a real relationship, it was turning me into a girl and taking over my brain.

"Yo man, Earth to Dom!" Vince called, waving a hand in front of my face.

"What?" I asked, lost as to what the rest of our lunch crew was talking about

"What's eating you man, you've been zoning out all day." Vince asked

"Nothing man, I just got a lot on my mind." I explained

Vince nodded and everyone went back to eating and talking shit. Ten minutes before lunch was over, I noticed Letty and Mia get up from their table across the hall and follow Adrian and his boys out of the cafeteria. It bugged me that they didn't sit with us anymore, I felt like Letty should be with us at lunch regardless of whether or not she was dating some punk.

Vince nudged me so that I wouldn't get caught staring, "That still what's on your mind?" He asked quietly, so no one else would hear.

I looked at him confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked

"Letty," He said, as if it should be obvious. "Is she what's been on your mind lately?"

I rolled my eyes, Vince had been convinced that I was jealous of Letty's little boyfriend, and that couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Why would I be thinking about Letty?" I asked grouchily

"I don't know Dom, but she seems to be all you talk about, and I catch you looking at her all the time, and you can't seem to play nice with her boyfriend, and so I am asking if she's what you can't get out of your head?" He asked

I sighed and shook my head, "Nah man, Letty isn't what I'm stressin about."

Vince shook his head and went back to eating, I could tell by the way he was acting that he didn't believe me for a second, but honestly I didn't believe him myself.

Thankfully, distraction walked by wearing a tight tank top and a tiny blue skirt.

"Hey Dom." Nicki Tran said as she and her friends passed by

"Hey Nicki," I smirked, she was one of the hottest girls in school but I had stayed away from her because of my beef with her brother, plus she didn't have a reputation for being a one off girl, which was what I usually dealt with.

She blushed and her friends giggled as they continued to make their way out of the cafeteria.

Vince chuckled, "She's a relationship chick man, the only way to get it is to date her, don't waste your time."

I rolled my eyes at him before a smile crept onto my face. Nicki was a relationship girl, meaning that she could teach me how to be in a relationship, maybe even what it's like to be in love.

Excusing myself from the table I slung my back pack over my shoulder and jogged out after her. It didn't take me long to find her leaning against her locker talking to her friend Miwa.

"Hey Nicki, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked her nervously

Her friend gave me a knowing smile before disappearing down the hall.

"Hey Dom, what's up?" She asked

I took a deep breath, "I was wondering if maybe you would like to go to dinner with me on Friday, and then maybe come watch the races with me afterward?" I rushed out nervously

Nicki smiled big, "You mean like a date?" she asked

I nodded.

"Of course I would!" she said pulling a pen from her backpack, she took my hand and scribbled her number down on it, "Call me tonight and let me know what time you want to pick me up."

"Ok cool." I said, feeling suddenly very awkward I leaned in and kissed her cheek before jogging back towards the cafeteria

"Where the hell did you go?" Vince asked as he walked out of the café.

"I was just talking to someone about something I gotta do this weekend." I said

Vince eyed me strangely, "Whatever man, lets just go before we end up in detention for being late to Banton's class again." He said shaking his head

When Friday finally rolled around, I was way less committed to the idea of going out with Nicki than I had been that day in the cafeteria. I wasnʻt a date guy, in fact as I started to get dressed that day I realized very quickly that this was probably the first time that I was doing anything that could even be remotely considered a date.

I sprayed cologne over my clothes after I had finished changing. I looked so not like myself. The button down shirt wasnʻt my thing at all, and my usual stonewashed jeans suddenly felt way too formal.

"Letʻs just fucking get this over with." I said out loud.

With a big sigh I dragged my feet out into the hall and down the stairs, taking each step with a sense of dread.

ʻAt least no one is home to see me do the walk of shameʻ I thought.

I had told my dad about the date and asked him to keep quiet about it, he had laughed, but after much pleading he agreed to keep his mouth shut.

I walked over to the living room wall where my Keys hung from a hook, I was just about to turn and walk out when a voice behind me made my blood run cold.

"Dom?" Letty asked, I could hear the shock in her voice.

"Hey Let." I sighed heavily turning to meet her gaze, she was laid back on the couch, remote in one hand, Doritos in the other.

"Where the fuck are you going?" She asked, eyeing my appearance critically

I sighed, taking a moment to weigh my options, lying would be useless, Letty was like a bloodhound she would smell the lie as it left my lips, but telling her the truth wasn't ideal either.

"I am going to dinner." I sad, settling with a half truth.

"With the president? Or your parole officer?" She teased

I rolled my eyes, "With your mama." I sassed

She laughed a little, "My mama's letting you take her out on a date?"

"Yep, she sure is, she's getting me flowers and everything." I said

Letty rolled her eyes.

"I gotta head out, see you later on yeah?" I said

"Yeah." She nodded, she wasn't smiling any more, in fact she looked almost sad.

I made my way towards the door and she came running after me.

"Dom, wait!" she called just as I was about to step outside

"What?" I asked turning to realize how close she'd gotten.

She gave me a small smile before she reached up and turned down my collar, making it look nice and neat.

"Couldn't let you go on your date looking like a goof ball." She said quietly

I looked at her and smiled, "thanks." I said as she moved away from me

"No problem, if you're taking her to dinner she must be special, I wouldn't want you to make a fool of yourself." Letty smiled

I nodded awkwardly, "I'll see you at the races." I said

She nodded and I left, but as I drove down the road in the direction of Nicki's house, I realized that I wasn't nervous anymore.

Letty POV

I wasn't stupid, neither was Vince, and Mia certainly wasn't either. We knew something was happening when Dom started acting weird all week. He'd come home from work, march straight up to his room and stay up there for hours. A few times Mia heard him talking on the phone, and I had caught him checking his texts way more frequently than normal at the garage on more than one occasion.

Vince was Dom's right hand man, so when he sat Mia and I down and asked if we knew anything, I convinced something big was about to go down.

"We should just ask him, Vince I'm sure he'd tell you if you asked." Mia had said on Tursday night after Dom had excused himself from dinner to answer a phone call.

"I tried that." Vince grumbled pushing his food around his plate.

Tony had been keeping his distance from the three of us, which lead me to believe that he knew something. And by the time Friday afternoon had rolled around, the three of us had decided we needed to corner Dom and make him tell us.

I left the garage early to wait at the fort for Dom and Vince to get home, I was supposed to call Mia when they arrived. But Dom came home first at around 6:30. He went straight up to his room and I heard the shower running.

About 30 minutes later, Dom came down in a maroon button down shirt that I had never seen him wear even to church, and jeans. He looked nice, put together and clean accept for his rumpled, crooked collar.

He didn't even notice me as he came into the living room to grab his keys.

I cleared my throat and watched him freeze.

"Where the fuck are you going?" I asked, not meaning to sound so aggressive

He turned around and paused for a moment before answering "I am going to dinner."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "With the president? With your parole officer?"

He chuckled a bit, but I never saw his shoulders relax, "With your mama."

I laughed at that, "My mama is letting you take her out on a date?" I asked

And then it hit me, as Dom replied with his witty comment about my mother giving him flowers, I realized what was going on. Dominic Toretto, the hit it and quit it champion was going on his first real date.

I wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand I was shocked, proud, and excited for him, but on the other I was hurt, maybe it was because he didn't tell me, maybe it was because you never really get over your first school girl crush, but I felt betrayed.

As he made his way towards the front door, I hurried after him. My mind came to rest on his messy collar. If Sara were here, she would have fixed it before he left, but since there was no mama here, I guess it was my job.

"If you're taking her to dinner, she must be special. I wouldn't want you to make a fool of yourself." I said

He thanked me and left, and I watched him drive off from the living room window. I would never tell anyone that as his car disappeared from my view, a few traitorous tears escaped my eyes.


	9. Chapter 8

**Ladies and Gents I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to update, I am finishing out another semester of college and it's gotten so hectic I couldn't handle. I am so exhausted, but I finally found some time to write the next chapter! I have loved all of the reviews, they have really helped me to figure out where I want to take this story, and I promise it's going to be epic! So please keep the reviews coming and I will keep up with the updates. **

Letty

Ladies and gentlemen let's get one god damn thing straight. I wasn't in love with Dominic Toretto. He was my first crush, so the rejection stung, but I always knew he would settle down and get his shit together for the right girl. I wasn't hurt but I was a bit put off I suppose you could say.

Still I was shocked that he didn't tell me. Once I actually figured out what was going on and saw how nervous he was when he left the house for that first date, I understood why he wasn't ready to say something to Vince. V was his bro, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take the Mickey out of Dom mercilessly over dating, and Mia probably wouldn't be much less ruthless, but I was shocked that Dom never told me.

It wasn't that we had had many heart to hearts, it was just that usually the heart to hearts were between us, they were few and far between, but when they happened we both knew who to go to, so the fact that he didn't come to me didn't sit very well with me at all.

A few weeks had passed and Dom seemed to relax more, but I could see how this new step was changing him. It was bizarre. He was skipping out on Family Dinner at Tony's to run off and hang out with this mystery girl at first, then he was asking for shifts off on Saturdays to go on dates. All of this came before Vince or I even knew her name.

Then finally, on a Friday night as we locked up the garage, the final shoe dropped and Dom shocked the shit out of every one.

"So Let, you and Mia, same place same time?" Vince asked, coordinating our rides to the races with, I think, the least amount of words possible

"Sure." I said agreeing

"Dom, you gonna be ready to go by 9 brother?" Vince asked

Dom frowned, "Actually, I am not going to the races tonight." He rushed out

Vince and I stopped, I could feel my blood running cold and Vince looked like someone had smacked him in the face.

"What?" he asked Dom

"Nicki and I, It's kind of our anniversary and I thought I would take her somewhere nice." Dom muttered looking at the ground

"What the fuck does that have to do with the races Dom?" Vince asked way angrier that I thought was necessary

"It's the reason I can't go tonight, the reason I don't want to go tonight." Dom explained

"You don't want to come out with your boys over some bitch? What the fuck is wrong with you Dom, this chick is a piece of ass not a fucking lap do…."

"Shut the fuck up." Dom cut Vince off mid-sentence, but V wasn't having it

"How about you strap on a pair, or better yet ask that bitch Nicki for yours back." Vince snarled

If he called that girl a bitch one more time Dom would snap. As if I was waking up from a dream I reached out and wrapped my hand around Vince's arm

"Go home." I said finding my voice a bit too gentle for the situation.

Vince kept shouting, and I could feel Dom's eyes locking in on target to kill.

"God damn it Vince, Shut the fuck up and go home!" I shouted gaining the attention of both boys.

Vince eyed me for a minute as if he was going to turn on me next, but I fixed him with a glare that made him think better of it and shrugging off my hold he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fucking out of here," He mumbled, "fucking punk makes me sick…."

He continued to mutter all the way to his car before he slipped into the driver's seat and tore out.

I turned to look at Dom who seemed angry and uncomfortable.

"He's just upset you didn't tell him." I explained

"I get that, it's why I didn't knock his ass out." Dom nodded

"He's got a right to be upset you know?" I asked

"I get that." Dom repeated sounding annoyed

I rolled my eyes, "So your girlfriend, her name is Nicki?"

He nodded

"Nicki as in Nicki Tran?" I asked

"Yeah," He answered

I considered it for a moment, "You should bring her around sometime to meet everyone, Vince is like a dog, he's gotta smell people and figure them out before he can decide if he likes them or not."

Dom laughed, "Vince doesn't like anyone."

"That's not true," I shook my head laughing, "he loves you."

Dom chuckled, "You too, he thinks you're the only woman on the planet that deserves to exist beyond the bedroom."

"That's because the sexist fucker thinks he'd survive for more than a day without Mia cooking every meal he eats." I rolled my eyes

We stood there in awkward silence before he finally spoke

"You could meet her if you like, I don't wanna bring her around my dad and Mia yet, but maybe tomorrow before we go to work you could meet her." Dom said

"Is this your way of asking me to pick you up after you do the walk of shame?" I asked

Dom turned bright red and shook his head, "actually we haven't… I mean we aren't…"

"You haven't bedded her yet?" I asked, my eyes wide in surprise

His eyes widened at my crude statement before he shook his head

"We haven't really talked about it yet, it just kinda hasn't come up."

I was in shock.

"I see,"

"You could come to breakfast with us tomorrow though? We usually get breakfast on Saturday before I come to work?" He asked

"You want me to come with you and your girlfriend to breakfast?" I asked confused

"Yeah, I mean you and Adrian could come if that makes it less weird." He offered

I raised an eyebrow, but nodded, "I mean yeah, I will talk to Adrian and see if he's down to wake up tomorrow and go have breakfast."

"Sweet. Call me later and let me know if youʻre in or not." Dom said walking towards his car.

"Ok." I said waving him off

I rolled my eyes as his car tore off down the road.

"Do my ears decieve me, does this mystery girl actually have a name?" Tony snarked as he came out of his hiding place along the side wall of the garage.

"You shouldnʻt snoop so much you know, one of these days youʻre gonna hear more than you want to know." I teased following him down to his car.

"Oh Letty of little understanding of the ways of parenthood. The day where the earful of Too Much Information comes has came and went. I have heard Dom and Vince's bedroom stories, I have heard you being slick on the phone with your boyfriend, and I have heard Mia in her bedroom at night talking to everyone and their cousin. I know much more than I want to, but all that I need to." He said

I rolled my eyes and slid into the passenger seat, "You need a girlfriend old man." I sassed

We began our cruise around the corner to pick up Mia easily and fell into a comfortable silence.

At 7:30 am Adrian was pulling into my driveway, since Dom and I had to be at work at 10:00 we were doing breakfast in town at 8. This was a brilliant plan accept for the fact that Adrian didn't drop me off until well after 1am the previous night and I was exhausted.

"Morning pretty girl." He drawled, half asleep, as I got into the car

I gave him a sleepy smile and a quick kiss on the cheek, he smiled back and pulled back out into the street, navigating his way to the tiny diner in the heart of town easily.

"I cannot believe they have been doing this every day for the last two months." I grumbled as we got nearer and nearer to the diner.

"I think it's kinda cute, but I don't get why they don't do this a little later." Adrian agreed

"Well Dom's dad wants us to open on Saturdays, it's kind of a stipulation for working in the garage for him, if he lets us work there then we take the hours he gives us and be grateful, plus he lets us party wherever we want just as long as we can be up to open the garage the next morning." I explained

"Then why don't they have breakfast on Sunday? When you guys are closed?" He asked

"That's what I don't understand, but whatever."

Adrian parked the car and we both hopped out, lacing our fingers together we walked up to the diner and peeked in. Dom and Nicki were already seated at a booth in the back corner. Adrian and I looked at eachother, silently communicating how gross it was that they were sitting on the same side of the booth when no one else was there.

I rolled my eyes and pulled him over to their table.

"Hey guys, How ya livin?" I asked

"Hey Lett. Baby this is my friend Letty, the one that I was telling you about." Dom said introducing me to Nicki

I rolled my eyes, he did realize that she and I went to the same school since kindergarten right? Like I'd known her for quite some time.

"Hello." She said politely

Adrian and I slid into the booth.

"Hey. How was dinner last night? You guys have a good time?" I asked

"It was fun, Dom put a lot of thought into it, I can tell." She beamed at him

I smiled, it was clear that she was pretty into him.

"How were the races last night? Anything good happen?" Dom asked Adrian and I

"Vince raced some kid from Freemont High and wiped the floor with him, and Johnny Tran won the big ticket race." Adrian replied

"That's awesome, you guys shoulda called me!" Dom said with a smile

I returned the gesture, but Nicki frowned

"We were on a date Dominic, they would have interrupted us." She said

Dom shook his head at her, his smile never faltering. "It would have been two minutes Nick, it's no big thing."

I could tell that she wasn't pleased, but she let the matter drop.

'Strike one bitch' I thought to myself

The waitress came over to our booth and took our orders quickly before disappearing back into the kitchen and the conversation resumed.

"So Letty, how long have you and Dominic been friends?" Nicki asked

I wasn't too in touch with my feminine side in those days, but I could tell when a woman was pissing on her tree, leaving her mark, Nicki for whatever reason felt threatened by me, and she was subtly making it clear.

For Dom's sake I kept up my oblivious attitude and replied, "I don't really remember exactly when I met Dom, Mia and I were friends first, and I guess Dom and I just kinda ended up being cool because I was around all the time."

She glared at me hard, "Really? He's always made it seem like you guys spend a ton of time together?"

Adrian gave me a questioning look, picking up on the venom in her voice, but I ignored him and smiled, "Well his dad gave me a job in the garage, so me, Vince, and Dom are together a lot these days." I said

Nicki didn't let up, "And how long have you two been together?" she pressed

"Coming up on 8 months now." Adrian said giving Nicki a pointed look

Dom seemed to be watching the conversation like it was a tennis match, I couldn't tell if he'd picked up on the hostility yet, but if he hadn't it was only a matter of time.

"That's a really long time." Nicki commented

"Yeah I guess, it flew by though." I smiled finding Adrian's hand under the table and giving it a squeeze.

She giggled and leaned into Dom's shoulder, "I told Dominic that I feel like I blinked and we'd been together a month."

"That's awesome." I smiled resisting my urge to vomit, "So when are you gonna come around to the house so the rest of the team can meet you?"

Dom looked at me uncomfortable with my question, but I ignored him.

"What do you mean?" She asked

"Well it's just that, you guys have been together a month and I am assuming you plan to stay together since it's going well, so when do you plan on coming by to meet Mia and Vince, and Dom's dad?"

She considered me for a moment and then looked to Dom, "Should I meet your family soon?" She asked him

"You would think." Adrian mumbled just loud enough to be heard, I squeezed his hand in warning.

Thankfully before anymore awkward questions could be asked, our food was placed in front of us and everyone began to eat.

Believe it or not, we made it through our meal pleasantly, despite the fact that I got a weird vibe off of Nicki she seemed nice enough and it was obvious that Dom was pretty taken with her.

After the boys had paid for breakfast, I slid out of the booth and made my way to the little girls room. After I was done I started to wash my hands, looking up into the mirror I found Nicki, glaring at me through the mirror.

"You ok?" I asked her

"Yeah, I'm great." She smiled nastily

"Uhm? Are you waiting for the sink?" I asked her

"No, I am waiting for you to get done. I have something I want to say." She replied

I folded my arms over my chest, not as a means of defense, but because this chick was really starting to annoy me, and I didn't want to reach out and knock her head off.

"Let's hear it then." I replied

"I want you to stay as far away from Dominic as possible." She said simply

"Uhm he works with me." I stated

"Then maybe you should find a new job, because I don't like him around you." She snarled

I rolled my eyes and laughed, "Honey, I have known that boy more than half his whole life, if he was going to fuck me, he would have done so already."

She growled, "You would like that wouldn't you?"

I shook my head at her stupidity, "I have my own man Nicki, I don't need yours."

Before she could reply I stepped out into the main dinner and found Adrian. I was eager to tell him what Nicki said somewhere Dom couldn't hear about the Monster he brought home.


End file.
